A report on the concluded Leaders Summit on Climate
“Mother Nature is not waiting; we need a green planet — but the world is on red alert.” Said UN Secretary-General, António Guterres at the opening of the two-day Leaders Summit on Climate hosted by United States on World Earth Day. After fulfilling his promise to bring America back into the Paris Agreement, President Biden convened 40 world leaders in a virtual Leaders Summit on Climate in April 2021 to rally the world in tackling the climate crisis and meeting the demands of science. The United States and other countries announced ambitious new climate targets ensuring that nations accounting for half of the world’s economy have now committed to the emission reductions needed globally to keep the goal of limiting global warming to 1.5-degrees C within reach. Many leaders underscored the urgency of other major economies strengthening their ambition as well on the road to the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP 26) in November 2021 in Glasgow.
The upcoming Petersberg Climate Dialogue, the Partnership for Green Growth and the Global Goals Summit and the Summit of G7 Leaders will be crucial moments for leaders to deliver vital climate finance commitments especially on the US$100 billion goal in support of developing countries climate action promised over a decade ago. The world will be watching carefully, particularly those already experiencing severe climate impacts and an ongoing economic crisis. Delivering on finance and adaptation is a prerequisite for success, and the Secretary-General is encouraged by the announcements made today by President Biden.
“Fighting climate change may be the most important task we face today – and the US’s renewed commitment to it is welcome” said Patricia Espinosa executive secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.
President Joe Biden of United Sates opened his address with the remarks “By maintaining those investments and putting these people to work, the United States sets out on the road to cut greenhouse gases in half — in half by the end of this decade. That’s where we’re headed as a nation, and that’s what we can do if we take action to build an economy that’s not only more prosperous, but healthier, fairer, and cleaner for the entire planet. You know, these steps will set America on a path of net-zero emissions economy by no later than 2050.”
President Modi in his address articulated that “Despite our development challenges, we have taken many bold steps on clean energy, energy efficiency, afforestation and bio-diversity. That is why we are among the few countries whose NDCs are 2-degree-Celsius compatible. President Biden and I are launching the “India-US climate and clean energy Agenda 2030 partnership”. Together, we will help mobilise investments, demonstrate clean technologies, and enable green collaborations.”
The Summit, which was the largest virtual gathering of world leaders, convened the Major Economies Forum on Energy and Climate (the world’s 17 largest economies and greenhouse gas emitters) and included the leaders of other countries especially vulnerable to climate impacts or charting innovative pathways to a net-zero economy. President Biden was joined at the Summit by Vice President Harris, members of the President’s Cabinet, Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry, and National Climate Advisor Gina McCarthy, as well as senior representatives of other countries and leaders from business and civil society. Themes also included elevating the economic benefits of climate action, including job creation, as well as the importance of mobilizing public and private finance, addressing the need for adaptation and resilience to climate impacts, incorporating nature-based solutions, deploying and spurring transformational technologies, and showcasing subnational and business leaders on climate action. Many new coalitions were announced or mentioned which have the potential to push sectoral transformation at a speed and scale not yet realized. Key among these are the new LEAF Coalition—Lowering Emissions by Accelerating Forest finance—and the GFANZ Coalition—Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net-Zero—showing a clear trend in the private finance and corporate sectors. They highlight how truly committed companies can go above and beyond their Science Based Targets initiative-validated decarbonization targets to contribute to meaningfully address the intertwined biodiversity and climate crises.
What this meeting did however was put climate back on the agenda and force leaders of major economies to confront the scale of the task ahead regardless of how jargon-heavy and watered down their proclamations may have been. Is it really rhetoric to reality?
Shweta Tyagi, Chief Functionary, India Water Foundation
